Dehesa Charter School

Dehesa Charter School Background

Started by a group of home school parents that were seeking an environment where their children could collaborate with other students and prepare for college.

*Opened 2001 and served 1000 families at that time within their system
*Currently they serve around 12,000 families.
*11 learning centers
*Serve at risk, special education and TAG students
*Offer a hybrid education
*extracurricular options include mock trial, robotics competition, speech competitions,
and intramural sports
*All student, parents and teachers complete a learning profile to identify characteristics
*There are 2 paths to earn a high school diploma, one is a home school situation with a educational facilitator (this teacher is accountability piece for the state requirements), the other path is a studio learning approach. Students in this program attend school for needed classes. In both situations students have a personalized learning plan. Students enrolled in either of these plans can attend the community college for course work that is not offered at the school for college prep. Some of the methodology used in these programs are; face to face teaching, project based learning, online and home school material (extremely high parent involvement throughout)

Main Take-Away Ideas
*Learning profile survey for both students and teacher could be valuable (CORE?)
*Emphasize student choice in they way they learn (methods) which fosters their
motivation to learn
*There is not a "one size fits all" education...students should be given educational
options that enhance their natural learning styles.
*Online learning is most effective when blended with a school environment